Tony Winner Nikki M. James On Making ‘Little Shop Of Horrors’ History Alongside Jordan Fisher As First Black Leading Couple [Exclusive]

When the curtains rise on the current Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, audiences are treated to a cultural milestone hiding in plain sight. For the first time, the central romantic duo of Audrey and Seymour is led by two Black actors: Tony Award-winner Nikki M. James and Jordan Fisher. It is a striking evolution for a musical that has spent more than forty years cemented in a specific, mid-century white aesthetic. Yet, stepping into the iconic blonde, high-heeled shoes of Audrey felt like a natural homecoming for James, who recently spoke to MadameNoire. 

“Audrey is a role that, although I stepped into it with such ease—I mean, I feel like I put on that black dress and those high heel shoes, and I knew exactly who she was—yet, it was never a role that was on my bingo card because I’d always seen non-people of color play this part,” James reflects. “And when it occurred—when I got the offer, I thought, ‘Oh my god, yes, that’s perfect.’ I love that in my 25 years in this business, both the business has changed enough that people are starting to go out of the boxes that they assume shows or roles or characters are meant to be played by certain people. And I also love that I’m still being surprised, that I’ve created a body of work that other people see me as things that I haven’t even seen in myself yet. There’s something really amazing when a person says, ‘You’d be great at this,’ and you think, ‘Really?’ and then you are. That means that I’ve created a body of work and also relationships with directors and musical directors where people respect me, and they’re thinking about me in ways that I’m not even thinking about for myself. I’ve put my own self in a box and other people are helping me bust out.”

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